Nonequilibrium State of Giant Vesicles in a Microfluidic Environment
摘要
Giant vesicles (GVs), which are closed lipid bilayer membranes with diameters greater than 1 μm, have attracted attention as capsules for constructing cell-mimetic molecular robots. GVs can encapsulate not only molecules and macromolecules but also micrometer-sized molecular complexes and particles. The lipid bilayer membrane of GVs provides a reaction field for functional amphiphiles, including membrane proteins. These intramembrane molecules and macromolecules enable the influx and efflux of specific chemical species and information through molecular recognition at both the inner and outer leaflets of the GVs. Due to their size, GVs can be transported and finely aligned to construct network structure within a microfluidic device. These morphological and chemical reaction networks can be used to develop highly functionalized information circuits. In this section, we review and discuss the morphological dynamics and membrane permeability of GVs in nonequilibrium states achieved using microfluidic devices.